Wheel tightener



Aug. 28, 1923. ,466,097

` F. A. HOMEWOOD WHEEL TIGHTENER Filed Oct. 2 1922 gwmntoz aliteua/ca;

Patented Au es', 19235.

'nnnn A. H MEWOQD, or' GLENDO, w oMINeL V I`WHEEL TIGHTENER.

v Application .filed 'October 2,1922. Serial 0. 591330.

,To azZZ salaam itmay concern:

Be it known' that L 'FEED A. liounwoof :a citizen, of the United States,residin'g at Glendo, in the .county' of Platte and State* of Wyominghaveinvented 'certain new and useful Improvements inWheel Tighteners, ofwhich the*l:`o1iowingisa specification, 'reference being had totheaccompany-ng d'raw "This inven'ti'on .relates :to Wheel adjustors andtighteners, .and has for its Object 'to provide a device of thischaracter oa-pable of permittingeither the :spokes or the -felly of theWheel-to be tightened. r V

It is another objeet of the inventior to provide ajacl: of' thiseharacter capable of being adjusted according to the size 'of the wheelbefore bei-ngapplied, and wherein the jacking operation -canbeaocomplished by one movement o-f the lever of 'the device.

It is a further Object of the invention to provide 'ardevice of thischaracter having a base adapted to engage a portion of a wheel, andwherein the device is operative within the wheel to move the pivotsthereof to a dead center.

It is a still further Object of the invention to provide a device ofthis character wherein the actuating member is provided with means foradjusting its position relative to the dead center of the pivots..

With these and 'other objects in view, the invention consists in theimproved construction and arrangement of parts to be herein'- after moreparticularly described, fully 'claimed and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevationof a Wheel showing the invention applied;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tightener in itsretracted position; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the tightener in its extendedposition.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates a saddle base member adaptedtoengage the felly of a Wheel. Projecting from the base is a pair of ears6 having bearing openings 7. Carried by one end portion of the upperface of the base 5 is a boss 8, the purpose of which will be hereinafterdescribed.

An actuating lever 9 is provided, the end portion 10 of said lever beingsubstantially ofiset with respect to the body portion of the lever andalso enlarged, said enlarged portions having cam extensions 11 and 12.

The extension ll .is provided with an openng ,13, and the extension .1 2r is provided wth'an Opening-14. .A `p ivot pin lisadapt- :ed to bepassed' through the openingle .and the bearing openings'? 'of the -earsB to 'pivotally support the..1ever;9'upon.the r base ,5.

longas desired. r

r In 'COIlIlQCtlOll with the `actuatng lever,

It is of course, Obvious that the i ,body port'on of-the lever -9-may'ibe made as jack means are used, said jack means com v prising athreaded shank 1'6`, the end portion 17 of the ,shankbeingeulargedandoffset, said enlargement being brfurcated "as :at 18 videdwith registering openings 19 adapted to receive a pivot pin20,'saidpivot pinalso for the receptionofthe extension 11 of the V lever. vThe arms of the bifurcationare proplied :to thelever, the ofi's'etportion is 'exi. tended towarfd the lever so *as toprevent contact' ofthe threaded shank with the major portion of the lever in the operationof the device. A tubular member 21 is provided, the end 22 of saidmember being closed and tapered as at 23, according to the divergentrelation of the spokes at the hub of the wheel, so as to permit'the end22 to engage the hub of the wheel without interfering with the positionof the spokes. Theend 24: of the sleeve is open, the inner wall of saidend beingthreaded for a short distance for the reception of the threadedshank 16.

The actuating lever 9 is provided with a threaded socket 25 adjacent theextension This socket is intended to receive a screw 26 which is attimes adapted to engage the boss 8.

In operation, the device is placed between the spokes of a Wheel withthe saddle base 5 resting upon the felly of the wheel, The sleeve 21 ofthe jacking means is adjusted by rotating the same on the shank 16. Theoperating lever is then moved downwardly toward the base so as to swing,the sleeve 21 toward and into engagement with the hub of the Wheel. Atthe limit of the movement of the lever 9 the screw 26 will engage theboss 8 so as to hold the pivots 15 and 20 substantially on a verticaldead center, so-

that movement of the jacking means away r tended position. Therefore,there is no-danger of the dead center being accidentally broken so thatthe Wheel may be held in its stretched position indefinitely. During'this period a suitable Washer may be applied to the exposed portion ofthe tenon of the spokeand ifnecessary a wedge may also be inserted inthe separated' portions' of the felly, thus properly tightening theWheel. The lever-9 is then swung tovvard the acking means so asto breakthe dead'center of the pivots, Whereupon thexdevice may' be easilyremoved from the Wheel. From the foregoing it' Will be readily seen thatthis invention provides 'a novel* form of Wheel tghtener whch requiresonly one movement of the lever in order to *stretoh the parts of r theWheel to permit the insertion of washers .or wedges. Regardless'ofthefact that only one movement of the lever is necessary, it is ipossible to adjust the jackin'g means to accomnodatelany size of Wheeland to also 'adjust the device to stretchthe Wheel various distancesjAll: of these features are pos sessed -by a compactdevice composed of'only a small number of simple parts which Wll'l'lOt easily get out oforder.

- What is claimed is r "1. A wheel tightener comprising, a base memberadapted to be engaged against the inner periphery of a Wheel felly andformed with spaced ears, an elongatedlever having a head formed Withopposite extensions, one' slightly beyond deadcenter with respect to thefirst named pivot point, said rodand sleeve being supported entirelybythelever; 2. In a device of thecharacter described, a base adapted tobedisposed against'the 'inner periphery ofa Wheel fellyandformed Withears, a lever having ahead including opposite 'extensions, one` eXtensonbeing:

pivoted between said ears; an *extensible hub engaging member pivotallyconnected With the other extension,` a' protuberance on the base, and ascrew extending from-one edge F of the lever 'and engageablewith saidprotuberance Whereby tolimit movement of the lever whereby thesecond'named pivot will be maintained 'slightly beyond' dead center"with respect to the first named pivot; r

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

' p F A. HOMEWOOD.

' second'named pivot point will be maintained

